Memories in the Rain
by Tro-Tro
Summary: Squall struggles with his life, not to mention his feelings for Quistis. Will he find solace in her arms or in the arms of Rinoa? Quall with hints of Squinoa. Based from the beginning of FFVIII all the way to the end.
1. The Infirmary

**Title:** Memories in the Rain  
**Pairing:** Squall x Quistis (Hints of Squall x Rinoa)  
**Rating:** T  
**Warning:** Violence, Language, and Rinoa.  
**Disclaimer:** The original Final Fantasy VIII, it's characters, and script belong to Square-Enix.  
**Notes:** This story is follows the events of the video game but scenes and dialogue are not directly quoted. I have taken author liberties and added new scenes, changed wording, and in most places I have put in entirely new dialogue. This is for entertainment purposes only. Please do not sue.  
**Updates: **I'm finally editing it. Wow. (3/23/2007).

* * *

The sun shimmered through the glass windows of the orphanage. Its rays caressed the little girl's blond hair and face. She held his hand and giggled. The little boy smiled weakly.

"I made you a picture." The girl said softly. She shoved her left hand in her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of white paper. She handed it to the boy. He took the paper hesitantly and let go of her hand to open it. He unfolded the paper slowly. He did not want to spoil the moment. It was the first time anyone had ever given him a present.

His eyes widened in surprise. It was a drawing of a Lion outlined in black crayon and colored in with various yellows, oranges, and browns. All of the warm colors were delicately placed inside the black lines.

"It's a Lion! My favorite animal. Wow. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The little girl grabbed his arm. "Come on, Squally. Let's play!"

"But I need to name him."

"Do it later. Miss Ellone said she's gonna play "Duck Duck Goo--"

"Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

_Huh? Who was that little girl? Why wouldn't I be alright?_

Squall Leonhart opened his eyes, a circline fluorescent bulb flickered into his direct field vision, and he immediately shut them again.

_Dammit. My head burns._

He ignored the dancing blue and white spots as he opened his eyes once more. The potent stench of hydrogen peroxide filled his nostrils. His mouth and throat were dry and his dark bangs felt stiff like straw against his forehead. He slowly moved a pale hand to the center of his forehead and pulled his fingers away. Smudges of wet blood smeared against his skin and rust-colored flakes were already lodged under his fingernails.

"Does your head hurt?" A woman's voice asked gently. Squall turned his head slightly to see the round plump face of Doctor Kadawaki. He was in the hospital wing, obviously. But why? The last thing he remembered was sparring with Seifer.

"Yeah, a little." He finally answered. 'A little' was a complete understatement. He felt like his skull was viciously stabbed with a dagger fifty times, dunked in gasoline, then lit on fire like a bloody menorah.

"Can you tell me your name, please."

"Squall Leonhart."

"And your age."

"Seventeen."

"Good. You know, you're very lucky it is only a scar, Mister Leonhart. A few more centimeters and your right eye would have been punctured. Take it easy next time you are sparring. Now if you will excuse me, I am going to call your instructor."

_Whatever._

Squall kept his head turned to the side. Maybe if he kept it still it would stop hurting. He wiped his sweaty palms on his plawhite tee shirt. His black leather jacket with the white fur collar was placed on the chair against a nearby wall. His matching black leather gloves along with a glass of water were on the end table next to the bed. He reached over and picked up the glass. He took a gulp and forced himself to swallow it. Nothing like piss warm water to go along with his already craptacular day.

He put the glass back on the table and gently put his head back into its previous position. He looked at his reflection in the large window a few feet away from him. A flicker of silky white caught his attention. His eyes moved up to see a slender framed young woman. She wore an airy blue top and a fitted white skirt that went down to her knees. She had a kind maternal look about her and soft facial features. Something about her was oddly familiar but it was exactly Squall did not know. Nonetheless, he could not help but feel the bizarre sensation of deja vu. But whatever. It was probably all of the pain killers Doctor Kadawaki gave him.

The repeated clicking noise of boot on floor made Squall bring his attention back to reality. He blinked and focused his sights on his instructor, Quistis Trepe. He gave her a quick once over. He always thought she looked good in her instructor's uniform. It did not matter how many times he saw her in it, day after day, month after month, the sight never grew old.

Her black military boots were freshly polished, her bare legs looked smooth and soft, her dark olive green, knee-length tweed skirt and matching jacket were ironed to perfection. Long whisps of blond hair curved around her face and draped down to her shoulders. The remainder of her hair was neatly tied into a bun on the top of her head. Not a smudge or a speck of dirt on her wire framed glasses. Hell, she even made the ridiculous red tie look cute. Squall swallowed and once more wiped his sweaty palms against his tee shirt.

Quistis took one look at at him and shook her head. Squall sat up slowly.

"I knew it would either be you or Almasy. I'm just glad it's you." She smiled and tossed him a bottle of aspirin. "A gift from Doctor Kadawaki. She said your head should clear up in an hour or two."

Squall made no move to catch it and simply watched it bounce onto the bed. He licked his lips and slid off of the matress. He stood up only to be welcomed by a wave of nausea.

"Dammit." He whispered as he put a hand to his head to steady himself.

"Looks like you need my help afterall." The instructor said playfully. She walked along the opposite side of the bed and swiped the bottle of aspirin. She dropped two pills into her hand, grabbed the glass of water, and finally handed them to Squall once she was close to him.

_Oh great. More piss water._ Squall popped the pills into his mouth like candy and washed them down.

"Don't report me for sexual harrassment for doing this." Quistis pulled him against her. "Now put your arm around me."

"..." He felt his cheeks grow hot.

"Or you can fall on your ass. It's your choice."

Squall leaned against her. He had never been this close to a girl before.

They reached the end of the hallway before he blurted out, "We have to go back. I forgot my gloves."

"Get them later. I have to get you back to class. You have the field examination today, remember?"

Squall paused. _...Do it later. Miss Ellone said..._

He glared at her.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh...Yeah...I just..." He cleared his throat and spoke more forcefully. "I don't need any help. I'm fine." With that he pulled her arm away and hurriedly walked towards the large circular common area of the military academy.


	2. The Classroom

Squall leaned against the wall of the elevator as the doors slid shut. He was thankful that he was alone. The sudden lurch and pull upward made him grab hold of the handicap bar. He licked his lips and exhaled through his mouth slowly.

_Who was that little girl in my dream and in the infirmary? Why do I keep thinking I should know these people? And Quistis...I shouldn't have done that. Why am I even thinking this way? I don't need an excuse. I don't need to explain myself to her even if she's my instructor. I don't need to explain my actions to anyone!_

The elevator doors stopped on the second floor and opened. Squall pulled some strands of black hair away from his freshly acquired battle wound. He stepped out and walked towards one of the many classrooms on the second floor. He stood in front of the door and swallowed. Just the thought of being face-to-face with Quistis again made him anxious. Not to mention having to endure Seifer Almasy. Squall could already imagine all of the things Seifer said to the class regarding their duel. Not that there was much Squall could or would say to defend himself. Seifer was always the one who bullied him and spread lies about it later, but rumors did not bother Squall all that much. He knew the truth and that was all that mattered, or so he liked to think. Whatever Seifer said about him simply fuelled their rivalry and made Squall want to fight him again even more. It was like that ever since they entered Balamb although it felt much longer.

_Here goes nothing._

Squall gripped the handle of the door with his bare hand and pushed it down. The door opened with a click and he stepped inside. All eyes were on him. He hated the spotlight. His azure eyes scanned the class full of people for only a second before looking at the floor. He dared not look at Quistis but knew it was coming

...Three, two, one.

"I'm glad you are feeling well enough to join us, Mister Leonhart."

He winced. Why did she have to say that? As if having everyone stare at him wasn't bad enough. Squall flung himself in his chair at the back of the class, across the aisle from Seifer, ironically enough. Seifer snickered at him.

"Little Squally have a itty bitty boo boo?" The blond said mockingly, declaring it really. Loud enough for the whole class to hear it and burst into laughter. Great. Just great. Not only did Squall have to deal with having a massive scar on his forehead, offending his instructor, and being extremely late for class, but now he had to deal with everyone laughing at him. What else could possibly go wrong? Oh, right, the SeeD field examination. That was going to be the icing on the cake.

Squall said nothing but that did not prevent him from shooting up his middle finger at the other boy. Actions speak louder then words afterall.

"That is enough!" Quistis commanded. The laughing and talking immediately ceased. "Seifer, consider yourself warned."

Squall glared at Seifer. The blond boy's thin lips were curled in a very amused smirk.

Ten minutes later class was over. Squall stood from his chair and walked to Quistis. Only three other students remained at the front of the class. Three members of Quistis' unofficial fanclub. They called themselves "The Trepies". He always thought the name sounded more like an STD than a fanclub but whatever. It wasn't his problem.

The Trepies stood a few feet away from Quistis, who was packing her notebook and other supplies into her laptop bag. Squall stood across from her desk and watched her slender hands put one item after another into the bag. First, her blue and black pens, then her red marker, her notebook, then all of the papers she needed to grade before the end of the academic quarter. Everything was organized just so. It was a little quirky but it was kind of cute. Wait, _cute_? Where did that come from? Ah, whatever. It was his empty stomach talking, yeah, lack of food. That had to be it.

"How's your head?" Quistis asked with a small smile.

Squall blinked and relaxed his arms at his sides. "It feels a little better. Thank you, Instructor."

"Good. Do you feel you're ready for your field examination?"

He nodded.

"I will be your back up. Make sure you equip your Guardian Forces. When you're ready, meet me at the Front Gate. I'll be waiting." She winked at him and grabbed her things to leave.

"Uh...Wait, Instructor. I have to talk to you," Squall looked at the Trepies. "In private."

Quistis raised a precisely tweezed eyebrow. "You can talk to me on the way to the Fire Cavern. We'll have plenty of alone time there." She smirked and exited the room, the Trepies not far behind her.

Squall's face grew hot. He was thankful she left the room before her or any of her adoring fans noticed.

_Why am I blushing? I'm acting like a thirteen year old. I shouldn't be like this. I don't have time. I need to equip my Guardian Forces and get my gloves from the Infirmary. I need to focus on the exam._


End file.
